Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Riding with the Korean Pro Team LX Systems 엘엑스 선수단과함게라이딩후기

Last Sunday my team got a pretty cool opportunity. We went for a ride with one of the Korean professional road teams and then went out for lunch and coffee with them. The team consists of just 6 riders but they were all really nice guys. It was a really great opportunity for me to ask some questions about how pro cycling in Korea works. The team Captain Seon Jae Jang was really good at English and helped answer a lot of my questions. Pro racing in Korea is much different than the US.
First all the distinction between pro and amateur in Korea is very strong. The pros have a completely seperate set of races they do and amateurs are not allowed to participate. There are about 100 registered pro riders in Korea so they still have ok size fields at most of their races. Also they only have pro racing about once a month which is usually a road stage race or a set of track competitions. Most of the pro riders do both road and track as a result of this. Finally the biggest difference is that even though most of the teams aren't registered as UCI continental teams all of the riders get paid a decent livable salary and as a result can focus on nothing but training and racing. Also their races don't give prize money but if they do well they will get a higher salary the next year. Definitely a big difference between many of the continental pro racers in the US. Also basically every pro rider started biking in middle or high school at a sports high school and were basically brought up through the Korean pro development system. There aren't many riders who are pros who didn't participate in an organized high school racing team. It was interesting to finally get a lot of my questions answered about how pro racing works!
Overall it was a really fun and informative day and a nice ride with some great guys. The pros are doing a 3 day stage race that starts tomorrow in Gapyoung north of Seoul. Following this race there is a one day race for amateurs that I will be riding in. I can't wait to get my season started!
I didn't take many pictures but my teammate Myo Jin did so I'm putting a link to her blog here if your interested in seeing them. She writes really nice detailed blogs about every team ride and race. Click the picture with the rider in the red jersey to see the blog about our ride.